Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Call
to Action

Without additional funding support from the
Board of Supervisors, CCPS cannot fund reduced class size, material resources
and any meaningful increase in
your take home pay. The minimal
increases we see “on paper” vanish with increasing health care premiums and
contributions to VRS.

THE TIME HAS
COME FOR YOU

TO SAY ENOUGH
IS ENOUGH!

Contact
members of the BOS and share your story. Let them know how reductions in funding
support have hurt your classroom and
your family. Do you work a second or third
job? Are the ever increasing demands
draining you of energy to do your best work? Are you considering leaving the
profession you love? Tell them your
story! Text, e-mail, phone call!

Tell
each BOS member that you need him/her to support advertising a tax rate of no
less than 98 cents. A three cent
increase in the current rate could generate over $9 million in additional
funding.

Reach
out
to your friends and community contacts and ask them to make contacts with the
BOS as well. Use your social networks,
personal e-mail lists and relationships with parents and business leaders. Help
them understand how the continuing reductions in funding are negatively
impacting your classroom and your ability to be fully committed to the CCPS
community.

THE TIME FOR SILENT, CLOSED-DOOR, COMPLAINING IS OVER. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Make
contacts only from a personal computer or smartphone and during non-contract
hours.

Gather friends and
family to attend the BOS meeting on January 22, 2014.

Wear red for public ed!

The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors
meetings are held in the Public Meeting Room, 10001 Iron Bridge Road. Sessions
typically begin at 3 p.m., break at 5 p.m. for dinner, and then resume at 6:30
p.m

Monday, June 10, 2013

The Citizens Standardized Testing Forum will be holding a very important meeting with Chesterfield County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Marcus Newsome.

Dr. Newsome will share what superintendents across Virginia have proposed in an effort to take the focus off of standardized testing and give students the skill sets necessary to think critically and solve problems. The brief presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

Please share this invitation with your colleagues and community parents. This grassroots movement has the potential to positively impact your students.

Friday, June 7, 2013

As I wind down my CEA Presidency, I had the opportunity to participate in a unique community service project today. Bermuda District School Board Representative Carrie Coyner helped CCPS and Chesterfield County Parks and Rec win a competitive grant from a new $4.1M partnership between the KaBoom! Foundation and Carmax to build a community playground for children in neighborhoods in need of assistance. Fit4Kids also helped support the project, and the specific playground design came from the area children themselves.

As Tropical Storm Andrea taunted us all day, we were our own force of nature! It was awesome! It was wet, it was dirty, it was high energy--the best organized chaos ever. Over 150 volunteers without specific construction skills randomly assigned to teams under the direction of about 10 task captains raised the entire playground in just shy of 4.5 hours. And, little did we know until we started, we were competing head-to-head with a team doing the same thing in L.A. Right Coast wins again!

I planted and mulched trees, carried bags of concrete, erected a 6-seat swingset, drove in 3-foot metal pins to hold the playground border in place, and raked cypress mulch under the swings to a depth of 2 feet! All while having a great time with people who gave up their day to build this fantastic playground that will serve the kids of the Bellwood and Bensley communities for many years to come. These two elementary schools are high-performing Title I schools, and this is exactly the kind of recognition and community pride they deserve. I am happy to have been able to represent all the teachers from those schools who could not participate because they were in their classrooms with excited students. This was one of the most satisfying activities of my presidency, and something I will always remember.~Frank

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Thank you to all of the wonderful educators who have given so much of yourselves to advance the lives of children and public education in Chesterfield County. It was my great pleasure and honor to recognize and celebrate you tonight. Please remember to take that moment every day to recognize and celebrate yourselves, because what you do truly IS the BEST* thing to do in this world (*apologies to doctors, nurses, civil engineers, and the U.S. Military).

Step 1: Take a Deep Breath.

Step 2: Come on, say it; "Man, I'm Good!"

Step 3: Deep Breath.

Special thanks to JoAnn Karsh for being our keynote and our inspiration. The impact you have had on this generation of advocates and leaders is immeasurable; each ripple in the pool leaving its own mark upon the shore in its own time. Thank you so much for agitating the water. We wish you continued happiness, wonder, and fulfillment on the next stage of your journey.

As I presided over the Rep Council for the final time tonight, I was reminded of two things: (A) We often allow ourselves to be defined by our 'whats' instead of our 'whys'; (2) We really shouldn't do that.

Thank you all for allowing me to lead this body for the last four years, and for sharing your whys as we tried to accomplish our whats. There's a lot more I could say, I'm just not sure how.

Today's the Day!!!

Come celebrate the truly outstanding careers and accomplishments of CEA Members as we recognize the professional educators who have given so much to their students, colleagues, and communities of Chesterfield County Public Schools.

Please join us at the Fulghum Center (Cogbill Rd) from 4:00-5:30 pm to congratulate and thank our retiring Members and award winners.
An abbreviated monthly Rep Council meeting will follow the celebration; please bring your school survey data.